Stanford football: Updates from spring practice

I caught most of Stanford’s workout Saturday, which was open to the public, and attended press conferences Wednesday involving coordinators Pep Hamilton (offense) and Derek Mason (defense).

A few notes on personnel:

* No change in the QB situation enter the Spring Game on Saturday at Kezar:

Brett Nottingham and Josh Nunes lead, with Kevin Hogan ahead of Evan Crower in the duel to be No. 3.

While the Spring Game may dictate otherwise — as it did three years ago when Andrew Luck threw five TDs — I fully expect coach David Shaw to announce after the scrimmage that … wait for it … wait for it … Nottingham and Nunes will continue to compete in training camp.

* Sophomore Ricky Seale is playing himself into the tailback rotation, Shaw said.

* Josh Mauro and Henry Anderson have been impressive enough that Mason feels confident there won’t be a dropoff at the defensive end spot previously manned by Matt Masifilo.

* Two names that keep getting mentioned by the coaches: Running back/receiver/returner Kelsey Young and outside linebacker/defensive end Kevin Anderson.

* The offensive line, as it stands headed into the Spring Game:

Cameron Fleming at right tackle; Kevin Danser or Khalil Wilkes at right guard; Sam Schwartzstein at center; David Yankey at left guard, unless he’s forced to play left tackle, in which case Wilkes could slide over to guard (or Stanford could opt for Cole Underwood or Brendon Austin).

The left side of the line will remain in flux until the coaches have a chance to evaluate the highly-rated recruits (Kyle Murphy and Andrus Peat) during camp.

* Because of depth issues, James Vaughters has moved to inside linebacker, at least for now. The talented sophomore played mostly on the outside and at rush end last season.

“He was the only guy who could move back inside,” Mason explained.

* With Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo, Stanford has two established tight ends. Ryan Hewitt could provide a third option but is valuable as a fullback. Davis Dudchock is another contender.

But it’s clear that Stanford would rather not have to rely on three-TE formations; it would much prefer to pick and choose the spots for that alignment.

In order for that to happen, however, the receivers must be better than they were in ’11. Beyond Ty Montgomery, there isn’t a proven wideout on the roster.

“Hopefully we won’t have to rely so much on the tight end position, and we’ll be a little more balanced between (tight ends and receivers),” Shaw said.

* Safety Ed Reynolds, who was injured in ’11, is contending for a starting spot. In fact, he has been more impressive than Devon Carrington and Jordan Richards, who played frequently last year.